Nothing but a few broken bones
by Randomitis Sufferer
Summary: Set after Shadow Kiss, Rose has set out to kill Dimitri. Will she succeed? I know this has been done many times, but this is just a one-shot. Good, I promise! It made my Mum cry! Rated T because I feel like it.


**I wasn't gonna put this on Fanfiction, but I wanted to know what you think. I'm just going to have this as a one-shot. My Mum and one of my friends read this. . . MY MUM CRIED! Lol, okay, enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

Hungry red-rimmed eyes glared back at me from the shadows.

This was not my first Strigoi kill. Heck, this wasn't even my first Strigoi kill _today_. But it was the most significant kill of my entire life.

I knew it was him. I didn't need to see the brown, almost black hair; I didn't need to hear the sound of his voice. It was him, the man I loved.

And I had to kill him.

But this was not the Dimitri I knew. This was not the Dimitri I loved. This was a body, a heart-less, soul-less being that no longer wanted to hold me, to love me.

He was as much a shell as I was in that moment.

I tightened the grip on my stake, waiting for him to make his move. I knew him too well to be the first to strike; he'd decapitate me in a heartbeat.

His 'awakening' had been far too recent for him to have any sense of patience. He lunged at me and I feinted to my right, turning so I was still standing face-on to him. He whipped his head around in less than a second and lunged at me again.

He was closer this time, and he caught the edge of my jacket as I spun out of the way. He pulled me towards him, like he was effortlessly reeling in a fish. I held my breath as the neck of my jacket tightened. I would not go down from a wardrobe malfunction.

His strong arms caught and held me, making escape almost impossible. But I am Rose Hathaway, not some still-learning novice. Well, I didn't graduate, but that's beside the point.

Stake still in hand, I raked the point across his face, burning it where the metal touched him. He shrieked, dropping me and bringing his hands up to his now scarred face.

I landed in a crouch, immediately jumping up and away from his reach. I knew I should have taken the opportunity to stake him while he was preoccupied, but there was a ghost in my line of sight that caught my eye.

One of the kids from the Badica house massacre was screaming at me silently. She pointed up and then disappeared. I shivered at the encounter and looked back at Dimitri. He was still shrieking, but he was coming to his senses.

Very quickly.

My eyes took less than a second to flash up to where the ghost was pointing. In the darkness, I saw three more sets of red eyes looking down at me.

"Why does everything have to happen at night?" I asked myself, gripping the stake tighter as one pair of eyes disappeared from the rooftop and re-appeared next to Dimitri.

Dimitri was now growling at me, the black gash from his left cheek across to his right eyebrow still steaming slightly. He looked pissed. In synchronization, they both ran at me, covering about five metres in less than a second. My arm automatically came up, almost covering my eyes and plunging the stake into the second Strigoi's chest, like I'd once practiced with Dimitri.

The Strigoi dropped and I noticed it was the blond from before. I barely had time to process I'd killed it before Dimitri pulled at my arm, swinging me round to slam my back into the stone alley wall. I used the wall to balance myself before kicking forward with both feet and slamming them into his chest. I had him knocked to the ground and my stake raised in my hand when I felt fangs sinking into my shoulder.

I screamed and brought my elbow up, slamming it into the new attacker's chin and knocking his head back. My elbow came down and I twisted my arm around; driving the stake into his heart, right through the ribs as I'd been taught.

He dropped beside me as Dimitri flung me off him. Getting caught off guard can get you killed, but, thankfully, I just got shoved into the wall. I slid down it, my leather jacket protecting me from scrapes. I'd hit my head though, and as I looked up, Dimitri and a Strigoi I faintly recognised from the caves stood over me, hunger written on their faces.

I didn't hesitate in my attack. Tightening my grip on my stake til my knuckles turned white, I raised it to the other Strigoi's cheek. The metal bit deep into his flesh, making him scream out in pain. He jerked back, backing away from me as he writhed in agony.

Dimitri was another matter though. As I snapped my arm back, his hand flashed like lightning and caught my wrist. I dropped the stake as I heard a loud, sickening crunch. The pain burned down my arm, making me scream out loud as Dimitri hauled me upwards. He flung me into the opposite wall, nothing but the glare of a hunting animal on his features.

Then the animal part _really_ got the best of him. As the other Strigoi came to stand beside him, Dimitri shoved him aside. I remembered something I'd read in my animal behaviours books. Dimitri was 'Guarding his kill'. The Strigoi turned on Dimitri as easily as Dimitri had turned on him. Snarls erupted into the air as they rushed each other, clashing in a head-on attack. While they were fighting, I moved towards my stake, being careful of my broken hand.

My hand was mere inches from my weapon when another sickening crunch sounded through the air. I looked back at Dimitri, he'd decapitated his competitor had just thrown its head into a wall. I felt my fingers brush metal and I clenched my fist, picking up my stake. I brought it towards me, keeping very quiet, while Dimitri looked up at the sky. The sun was about half an hour from rising. _Bad things don't happen in the day_, I'd once told Dimitri. I just hoped I was right this time.

I picked myself up as quietly as possible, knowing he would still hear me. He turned slowly, a malicious grin spreading across his face. I didn't hesitate; I leapt forward with everything I had. Dimitri's grin grew wider; he hadn't seen the stake I held behind my back. He reached out and grabbed my right arm, the one with the broken hand, and pain shot through me worse than it had in the ten minutes he was facing down the other Strigoi.

I shrieked, bringing my left hand out and seeing a flash of astonishment in his eyes. I bit my lip as I drove the stake into his heart, pushing it in a little further than necessary. I looked into his eyes and saw shock, astonishment, hurt and sadness written in them like a book. "I'm sorry" I whispered, pulling my stake out of his dead body and stepping back, watching as the love of my life fell with a tear in my eye.

I'd done it. I had kept my promise to Dimitri and suffered not much worse than a broken hand. The relief was so strong, I fell to my knees. There had been no hesitation. Partly because it was what I did, but mostly because that hadn't been Dimitri.

I never realised my tears had overflowed until I felt something against my cheek. Gasping, I looked up.

There, right in front of me, was Dimitri. The real Dimitri. He stood there, smiling that Earth-shattering smile that I loved so much. His arm was reaching down to me, and I realised that it had been his hand I felt on my cheek.

I stared at him, seeing him smile again was like the sun coming out after millions of years of darkness. He opened his mouth, not hesitating and closing it again like Mason had.

_Thank you _

And then he was gone.


End file.
